Sisters in Eternity
by Vampire Queen of NOLA
Summary: This and all chapters following revolves around an AU plotline. Caroline and Katerina were two young women in Bulgaria with the world ahead of them- but when Katerina was exiled, everything changed…
1. Origins

It was an endless cycle, or so it seemed. For two years now, the young Frenchwoman had come time and again to the Petrova residence, begging an audience with the noble family to reconsider their exile of their daughter, Katerina. Katerina and Caroline had grown up together, despite her family being generally distrusted for having come to the Bulgarian town two generations prior and holding fast to a refusal to give up their home language fully or name their daughter in the tradition of the land. When her friend's state caused her parents to begin locking her in the house, refusing to allow her to show that she was with child, it was Caroline who came to visit time and again, and when they began to refuse her at the door, she would sneak in the window to offer Katerina comfort in the night.

She told her time and again that she would never let them drive her away, but she had failed.

She would never give up. Even two years later, she was scarce certain that Katerina would have any desire to return, but the blonde refused to give up. Tonight, however, she was shocked to find that the door was partially adjacent- they _never_ left their door open like this. Brow furrowed, she pushed the door open a bit more, slipping within as quietly as she could manage. Faintly, she could hear the sound of crying from upstairs, and that was enough for her to reconsider ever having stepped within without invitation- that is, until she heard the begging. It sounded like Katerina's mother, begging for her _life_.

Taking a deep breath, she rushed to the stairs, uncertain what was going on but determined to help; her path was instantly barred by a man covered in blood, his face twisted demonically and blackened veins prominent under his dark eyes. Through the initial shock of seeing _fangs_ when he flashed a cold grin, the scream in her throat never took life, and her stumble back was silent and wide-eyed. Her heart had never beat so hard in the entirety of her life, and before she even truly thought about it, Caroline lashed out, shoving at the man and trying to run past him- with a snarl, he stayed steadfast, looping an arm around her waist and yanking her back against his chest. The next thing she was aware of was the piercing razors at her neck, fangs gouging deep into the sensitive line of her throat and drawing a shriek of agony and terror from her.

The pain blinded her to all else, yet she still struggled against the iron-like grip until she felt she had no energy left to even _move_. Desperately, she fought to do something, _anything_, but her legs had long since given way and she could barely see anymore. A dark chuckle came from the lips now pressed to her ear, the rough English spoken slowly enough that she could fully understand what he was saying. "_You_ are not a Petrova. Now, what shall I do with you, hm? Perhaps leave a gift for this quaint little town…"

Caroline's lips parted, an attempt to say something, even if she wasn't certain what- but the moment they did, something hot and wet was being pressed against them, her mouth suddenly flooded with a hot, metallic liquid that left her coughing. Some did slide down her throat, despite attempts to spit whatever it was out, and then, quite suddenly, the burning pain on the side of her neck was replaced with a sharp, mind-boggling explosion of pain _in_ her neck. Then, there was only darkness.

He had snapped her neck.

* * *

_More crying_. The blonde was brought back to awareness with a gasp, ravenously hungry and in a state of deep confusion. Her hand flew to her neck before anything else, but the skin felt unblemished, despite a coating of something that had dried there. A glance towards her dress showed evidence of blood, paired with a scent she couldn't place but which only furthered the gnawing feeling in her stomach. Heaven above, she felt as though she hadn't eaten for days. There was another gasp, this one, not her own, followed by hurried steps that sounded far too loud.

"Caroline! Caroline, sweetheart!" _Katerina?_ The steps stopped as the speaker dropped to her knees beside where Caroline lay, gathering her hurriedly into her arms and hugging her tightly. "What did they do to you? Are you hurt? What happened?!" The blonde could feel tears pooling in her eyes, and her first response was to sob, wrapping Katerina in a tight hug and dissolving into shameful tears as she buried her face in the other woman's neck.

"What is that _smell?_" she finally managed to gasp, pulling back to take her friend's face in her hands, confused and overwhelmed. "A-Are you hurt, Kat? Did they hurt you, too?" Katerina's face became drawn, worried at the first question- that it was at the forefront of her mind surprised even Caroline, but it was so _thick_, permeating the air so that it was hard to focus on anything else.

"I am _fine_ Caroline- what smell? Do you…" The brunette suddenly looked frightened, brushing her fingers over something against Caroline's chin- something dark and dried, something she recognized all too easily. Realization dawned on her in mere seconds, and suddenly, she was shaking her head. "No. No, not you, they could not have… Caroline, what do you remember? Did they force you to drink anything?" There were still tears shining in her eyes, but the fear must have kept them at bay temporarily, because they refused to fall until Caroline had nodded. "Oh, darling…" Katerina was suddenly pulling her into another hug before urging her to her feet, taking her hand and interlacing their fingers. "Don't worry. I can help."

"Help? Kat, what- your family, are they-"

_"Shhhhh,_ I will explain everything soon, but right now, we need to go. We're in danger. Do you trust me?"

"Of course," the blonde breathed, somewhat taken aback by the question and terrified by the look on her friend's face. Katerina had her free hand on the door, and she pulled it open, tugging Caroline with her.

"Then come. I will explain it all soon, I _promise._"

* * *

"Caroline, dear, you look sad. Cheer up, we are going to a _party_ tonight with a handsome escort each." Katerina- or Katherine, as she now called herself- peered out from behind the dressing screen, watching as Caroline stared forlornly out across the fields. Her statement was met with a slight eye-roll; it wasn't quite irritation at Katherine, not really, but at least _her_ escort truly wanted to go with her.

"Damon does not even wish to accompany me, Kat. He wishes he was taking _you._"

"Oh, don't be silly, Care. You are a beautiful woman, and Damon knows he is lucky you deemed him good enough to even be seen with you."

"They both love _you_, sister." The term was one they had taken to using for each other, and upon Katerina taking an alias, Caroline had adopted her new last name. It was much easier to introduce themselves as orphaned sisters than two wayward girls in this day and age. How many years since the confusing night when this had all begun? When Caroline had found that not only had she been turned into the very form of beast that killed Katerina's family, but that Katerina herself was one of them? How long had they been running from a family that Caroline had only heard stories of?

_Three hundred and seventy two years._

As though she had not been counting. Katerina was beautiful, charismatic, and drew the attention of everyone. It was something that had become very obvious in their years together, but Caroline had reached a point where she no longer took quite so much offense to the fact. She merely wished that one day, someone would notice _her_ first.

"And that is because they are too much of fools to see what a divine woman _you_ are." Katerina stepped out from behind the dressing screen, holding her arms out to her friend. "Come here." There was only a moment's hesitation before Caroline moved from the window, crossing the room to become wrapped in the other woman's embrace. "You are _rare_. You are _unique._ And one day, someone will be able to see that, and that someone will be the person who is finally worthy of your love." Pulling back, Katerina settled her hands on the blonde's shoulders, smiling. "No ordinary man can tame the flame that is my sister. Remember that." Caroline could feel her own lips pulling upwards, and she laughed, pulling Katerina into another hug.

Maybe she was right. She had never steered her wrong before.


	2. The Tomb

"You really _are_ pathetic, Stefan." How long had they been trapped in here? In what fucked-up world did Stefan Salvatore have such a gigantic stick rammed up his ass? There had been a time, long ago, where he'd actually been fun. Back in the twenties, especially, when Caroline had been by Katherine's side, supporting her in her endless stalking mission despite the fact that it had, at times, gotten annoying. He'd hung out with better-looking people, too. She and Katherine were taking turns fucking with Stefan's head as they whittled away the time in the tomb, Caroline thoroughly displeased that their plans had all been for nothing. "If Kat can get into your head that easily, you must still want her. Is that why you're dating little miss wannabe?"

He answered her with silence, leaning against the wall and stoically refusing to look at both her and Katherine; the two women exchanged looks, and Caroline rolled her eyes. Stefan was soon sitting on the floor, still holding his tongue so obstinately that the blonde was considering ripping it out so that he would wish he had spoken to Katherine.

"Are we seriously not going to talk at all?" Katherine asked Stefan, finally eliciting a reply from the stuck-up asshole.

"Oh, we can talk about how you regret everything you two have done to make my life miserable."

"I don't regret a damn thing," Caroline mumbled, less than happy with the man.

"What do you want me to say, Stefan? That I'm _sorry_ for everything I've done?" The false sincerity dripping from her sister's words as she pushed off of the wall had the younger vampire smirking. "Well I'm not, okay? It's called self-preservation. Caroline and I have been looking out for ourselves and each other for _five hundred years._" Stefan chuckled humorlessly, earning a daggered glare from Caroline.

"Mmm, yes, well look where it's gotten you."

"Yeah, we've done some terrible things, haven't we, Kat?" Caroline was smirking again, meeting the brunette's eyes.

"We have. And I know that. But I do love you, Stefan," Katherine continued, her gaze shifting to Stefan's with absolutely no sass or sarcasm to accompany the words. "Even if you don't want to believe it."

As much as Caroline wanted to roll her eyes again, she loved Katherine, and she knew that the other woman was speaking nothing less than the truth. Her anger at the man came from the fact that he was so determined to _hate_ Katherine- he didn't even know her story, _their_ story. It was wrong. He was stubborn, and self-righteous, and she really didn't think that Katherine needed that in her life. But what could she say? Love was very clearly blind. For a moment, it made her glad that she'd never found it.

"You want me to believe you?" Stefan was turning, assuming a more attentive pose and beginning to make gentle but firm demands. "Show me. Prove to me that there's something in you worth trusting."

"Stefan, I swear to God, I will-"

"No, Care. It's fine. And then what?" Katherine settled onto the stone bench, watching him closely, seeming to barely notice Caroline anymore. "You'll still hate me."

"Maybe. Or maybe I'll see that there's still hope for you after all."

The blonde vampire was suddenly very tense, enraged that Stefan had the gall to even presume that there wasn't any hope for her friend. She shoved from her spot on the wall, stalking over to where Stefan sat and towering over him with fury in her eyes.

"You don't know, Stefan. You don't know _anything_ about our pasts, our lives, so don't presume to think that at any point, Katherine has been 'hopeless'." He tossed her a lazy look, seemingly unconcerned.

"Says the girl who's always lived in her shadow." Caroline began to growl, but Katherine reached a hand to grasp her by the wrist and pull her to sit on the bench beside her, clasping their hands and intertwining their fingers to comfort her. It wasn't true- well, it was, but it didn't mean anything, not really. She'd moved past all of that, and how dare he even try to use it to- what, drive a wedge between them? As if.

"You're playing me," Katherine murmured, squeezing Caroline's hand.

"Am I?" There was a long, tense moment of silence, but it was Caroline who broke it, not Katherine.

"You want to find Klaus, right? Kill him, protect your precious little wannabe copycat of a girlfriend? Who, by the way, will _never_ match Kat. In any way."

"You know where to find him?"

"No." Caroline shifted a look towards her friend, who easily picked up where she left off with a sigh.

"We can help you find him."

"For a price, I'm sure."

"Start with Isobel. Elena's mother? She was a research expert. She found us." The man said nothing, and Katherine sighed once more. _"You're welcome."_

Before anything else could be said, there was a sudden sound echoing through the tomb, a shifting of stone that had all three of them rising to their feet and exchanging confused looks. A visitor? How very quaint. Hand still intertwined with her best friend's, Caroline tugged her towards the passageway to the entrance, Stefan on their heels with the lantern in hand. At first, it appeared as though there was nobody there, but the moment a man stepped into view, Katherine began to panic, trying to pull Caroline behind her.

"Kat, what are you-"

_"Elijah."_ Katherine's voice was shaking, and she looked terrified. _Mikaelson?_ Caroline had heard of the man, of course, but that didn't stop her from stepping between the Original and her friend, fixing him with a glare.

"Good evening, Katerina. Thank you for having the good sense to be frightened." The man shifted his gaze to the blonde, curious. "And so this must be her. The girl you've been running with."

"And you're an Original. You're not getting anywhere near her, do you hear me?" A small, bemused smile tugged at Elijah's lips when Caroline spat the words at him, but he chose to not respond, instead turning his attention to Stefan.

"Your release has been requested." The three in the tomb exchanged confused looks before looking back at Elijah.

"What? By who?" Stefan clearly had known nothing about whatever had happened- his inquiry was genuine, brow furrowed. (Though, to be completely fair, that seemed to be a permanent expression for him these days.)

"The lovely Elena drives a hard bargain. However, we reached a peaceful agreement, she and I. Please, come."

"I can't."

"You can." For some reason, Elijah was now staring at the two women, a challenge in his eyes. "I had the spell lifted." Slowly, cautiously, Stefan began to creep forward, and it felt as though an agonizingly long amount of time passed before he stepped past what had been the magical boundary. Her grip on Caroline's hand iron-like, Katherine made to bolt, but the two were pulled up short when Elijah suddenly appeared in front of them. His eyes were trained on Katherine's, but Caroline was frozen to the spot, unable and unwilling to move past and leave her friend alone. "As for you, you shall not exit until I say so. When Klaus comes, he'll want to know exactly where you are."

_"No,"_ the blonde whispered, a strangled noise that left Elijah turning his attention to her finally. She stumbled back as Elijah's hand lifted, tugging Katherine with her, but he was merely gesturing for her to leave. "No, you can't. Let her go. You're the noble one, aren't you? She told me about you, _please_, she's all I have, don't-"

"You may leave, or you may stay. It is your decision."

"Would you leave your family alone?!" Caroline snapped, frantic. "How can you expect me to-"

"As I said, it is your decision." Undisturbed, the ancient vampire turned to address Stefan; "You're free to go. Elena will explain the arrangement to you. So long as she keeps her word, I'll keep mine." With that, he spared a final glance at the two shaking women before walking away.

"Stefan, no," Katherine breathed, clinging to the blonde still, a plea in her eyes. "Don't let him leave me in here."

"Goodbye, Katherine," was the only response she got before Stefan turned his back on them and walked away.

* * *

"Kat, hey." Silence. The shadows of the tomb obscured the other woman's face from Caroline as the two sat near the entrance, both emotionally and physically strained after the screaming match they'd had over her staying in the tomb when she was free to walk out. "Katerina, _please_."

"Just _go_, Care. You aren't trapped."

"I'm not leaving you," she growled in response to the weak verbal push. Katherine sat on one wall, Caroline on the opposite, the two facing one another. With a groan, the blonde pushed herself up to stumble over to her friend and settle next to her, laying her head on her shoulder. "You had the same choice, all those years ago. Back home."

"Hm, yeah. Guess I did." Katherine almost sounded amused- almost. This wasn't an argument she'd give up on easily, and from the hundreds of years they'd spent together, Caroline knew that. She knew it just as well as Kat should know that she wouldn't win it. Between the two of them, Caroline was the more stubborn one, and it showed when she reached for her friend's hand and squeezed. "You're gonna just dessicate with me until Klaus shows up, and when he does, I don't know what he'll do with you."

"He'll have to kill me. He isn't touching you."

"If you're so determined to protect me, you need blood. Need to keep up your strength. Look, if we can kill Elijah, the compulsion will break, and we can get out of here." _We can run._ Back to the life of never having a home, of fleeing from one place to another until the end of eternity. Home had become such a foreign concept since they left Bulgaria that night- but at the same time, it had more meaning than ever. Caroline had learned that a home wasn't four walls, a roof, a warm bed. Home was familiarity, and for her, that was Katherine, her Katerina, her sister and best friend. Maybe they weren't bound by blood, but it didn't make a difference. Kat would always be family, always. To leave the sanctity of the only home she truly knew, to leave Katherine here, all alone-

"I left you alone once before," she whispered. "Right before you gave birth, I promised I would find a way to save you from exile, and I failed. I can't take that risk." To her surprise, she felt Katherine turning her head and pressing her lips to her forehead.

"I trust you. You're the only person I _do_ trust. You just need to get the Salvatore brothers to help kill him. Hey, we said an eternity, no matter what. If you don't do this, we lose everything we've fought so hard for." And they truly had fought _so very hard_ to make it through this hell together. They'd seen the world, but so fleetingly- and rarely could they ever enjoy it. There was a shadow at their backs, a demon hunting Katherine that Caroline had never once seen; it didn't matter. It never had. Where Caroline had been the peasant girl ignored by most, Katherine had been the daughter of nobles that had stubbornly clung to their friendship, setting down the groundwork for what they now had.

All they had anymore was each other, and their whole lives were intertwined. Her fears of losing Katherine were deep-set, especially after she had outlived her own family and realized that Kat was her everything. As much as the thought of failing terrified her, the gentle plea underlying Kat's words were enough to make her sigh and let her head raise.

"For you, then. But I have to come see you. I'll bring you blood, I'll keep you strong. If we have to fight…"

"Hell hath no fury like the Pierce sisters," Katherine supplied, laughing quietly. The old phrase they'd latched on to made Caroline's heart flutter ever so slightly in her chest, stirring with hope- they'd survived much worse. They could do this. They just needed to be smart about it. "We'll survive."

"Yeah." Caroline smiled. "We always do."


	3. Sisterhood

Caroline had been visiting time and again, dragging along living and struggling meals for Katherine every single time. She hadn't been taking people from Mystic Falls, but travelers were free game, in her mind. And they were safe, anyways- well, safe enough. The two women weren't killers, as much as the little Mystic Falls gang liked to think they were- they killed to get points across, to help with self-preservation, but there was absolutely no point in killing the people they fed from. That night, as she fed a bit of her blood to the meal of the evening and compelled him to forget everything and go back to wherever his home was, she found herself murmuring, "What if we were the monsters they think we are?"

"Hm?" Katherine was lounging against a wall of the tomb, wiping a bit of stray blood from her lips. She shot Caroline a confused look, wondering where the question had come from. "What, you mean like they were, in the beginning?" The blonde nodded, nudging the human on his way before going to sit on the singular stone bench nearby. "Well, we aren't. We just do what we have to to survive. You know that."

"I know, and I'm not arguing it. God, but if it wasn't for you, I could have been the exact kind of person they want to think we are. The bloodlust was-"

"Care, come on." Katherine pushed off of the wall, hands on her hips. "Are you letting them get to you? Are you _listening_ to them? You're not like that, _we're_ not like that, and we never will be. They just lack in perspective is all." She leaned her head on the blonde's shoulder with a soft sigh. "Besides, I don't think you ever could be, even if you turned your emotions off."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on. You've always been the good one out of the two of us." A wry smirk twisted Katherine's lips. "You were the innocent peasant girl, I was the whore noble."

"Kat!" With a gasp, Caroline smacked her friend's arm lightly. "Don't even!"

"What? It's the truth." Another sigh from Katherine. "I mean, it's all my family saw, when they exiled me." The blonde wrapped her arm around her friend, pulling her closer with a frown. It was a sad truth- her family had thought that, but Caroline never had. The two had been inseparable from childhood, running hand-in-hand through the streets and earning laughter and smiles from everyone they encountered. But Katherine's family had never been the gentle sort, and even then, they had found things to criticize. _You should not be around someone of such low class. Stay away from the French girl._

"But it's not what I saw. And I never will. You made a simple mistake, Kat, nothing more. And your family was always very judgmental. Do you remember how they reacted when I made you a dress?" She had spent hours, having worked hard with her mother to be able to buy the blue silk she'd used to sew the simple dress, and when she and Katherine ran back to Katherine's home so she could try it on, her father nearly had a heart attack- yelling about how a girl of her standing couldn't be seen wearing the clothing of a peasant and such.

Stefan, Damon, little _Elena_, none of them knew Kat like she did. The nights they'd snuck out to count the stars and talk about how they'd always be close, how they'd go get married and having dinners all the time, how their children would grow up best friends just as they had. The night Katherine had realized she was pregnant and had run to Caroline's, eyes filled with tears as she sobbed about how her life was going to fall apart. The nights Caroline had snuck through Katherine's window to take her hand and promise her that they'd find a way to leave all of this behind, that they'd never be separated because she wouldn't allow it, and how Katherine had told her that night that she was the most amazing sister she could ask for.

How Caroline had fallen to pieces when she'd lost control and killed somebody, and Kat had held her, telling her everything would be alright.

"Well. At least I have you." Katherine had a slight sheen over her eyes, the beginnings of tears that wouldn't come because both of them had fought to learn to ensure nobody would ever see them cry again. Caroline turned, pulling Katherine into a full hug, her embrace tight and protective as she thought about the danger that loomed. They'd never been so very close to losing everything. She wouldn't admit it, but she was terrified- terrified of losing her best friend, above all else.

"Yes, and you always will. And I'm going to find a way out for us. We still have eternity ahead of us to find our paradise, and we will. I swear it to you."


End file.
